Freddie Flintoff has not only recovered from a knee injury to play for England against India today, but he is on stand-by to skipper his country on his home ground.

Just five and a half months after being stripped of the England vice-captaincy in the West Indies, Flintoff has been restored to the role in all but name at Old Trafford.

And with skipper Paul Collingwood missing yesterday's training session with a stomach virus there may even be a need for Flintoff to go one step further and take the reins.

Neither Flintoff nor the England management would confirm his position because Collingwood is expected to be fit.

However, should the ginger boss need to nip off the field for a quick dash to the toilet or for any other treatment then Flintoff will be the man in charge out in the middle. And a quick glance down the team-sheet shows exactly why that is.

He is by far the most experienced player in the dressing room. And with no Michael Vaughan or Andrew Strauss in the one-day picture, he is the man coach Peter Moores is likely to turn to.

Freddie certainly showed his experience when asked about his potential restoration to high office.

"I know where you are going with this," chuckled Flintoff. "I will worry about that if it happens.

"I fully expect Paul to be back and tossing the coin and leading the side.

"If he has to go off for a wee or whatever he has to do then I will take over. After that it has not really been discussed and I fully expect Paul to turn up and play."

Moores said: "We don't have an official vice-captain, but we have two or three senior players in the team so we'd be covered and certainly of them Fred is a bloke who has experience of captaining his country before."

For Flintoff though he is just delighted that he will actually get the chance to play a rare match in front of his home fans who have missed their hero for the past two years due to injury.

Two Test wins and a one-day defeat in 2006 have come and gone since Flintoff last wowed the Old Trafford faithful during the 2005 Ashes draw and he is desperate not to miss any more. This afternoon's game would be the perfect time for him to end a miserable spell with the bat and halt a run of five one-day defeats at Manchester.

At least this time around England go into the match on a high with a 2-1 lead in the NatWest series thanks to two stunning performances.

Collingwood's side is not only playing well but doing so with an air of consistency that Flintoff knows must be maintained today.

He added: "There is a very relaxed atmosphere in the camp. If you look at the way the lads warm up and the intensity when they are out there on the field there is a lot of energy and enjoyment knocking around.

"That performance at Edgbaston in the field is something that England have been striving for."